Interviews
MMATorch Interview: The Trials and Tribulations of a Regional MMA Fighter
Jan 28, 2013 - 9:30:01 PM MMATorch Interview: The Trials and Tribulations of a Regional MMA Fighter

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By: Brad Walker, MMATorch Columnist

Interview with "Fighter X" On the Hardships of Fighting For Independent Promotion
By Brad Walker MMATorch Columnist

Writer's note: This is an interview with a fighter who has spent some time in regional and independent promotions, generally on the east coast. It was done under the condition of anonymity.

Most people believe that making your way to a UFC or Bellator contract is generally a lavish life; this interview will give you a really gritty reality check as to how things can really be. I hope you all enjoy and learn from this interview with our anonymous fighter we'll call "Fighter X," just as I have, and become appreciative of your local fighters everywhere.


Walker: First off, obviously you're a professional fighter; your record reflects a great well rounded ability, how does that work for you in the cage?

Fighter X: Well, inside of the cage in a fight your game plan is going to do one of two things – help you win or make you lose - so marching in with all the talent in the world doesn't really matter if you can't change your game on the fly. A great fighter will crush you, a good one will hurt you, and a bad one will get hurt, and that's only if you stick to your original game plan.

Walker: We've talked in the past about the financial hardships of being an independent fighter, can you tell me a little more about that?

Fighter X: Man, where the f*** do I start? Most of these smaller promotions, they invite you in with what looks like a decent paycheck, $300 to show, $300 to win, and then when you win you get some good cash, if you lose maybe not so good. The problem is after that they know you're going to come back for another fight with them, because you figure "hey, I made some good cash over there."

Walker: So you're implying that some promoters use a bait and switch type of mentality to get fighters to return to their organization?

Fighter X: Bait and switch is an understatement. I've always thought of it like dating; on the first date they act like a real nice person, take you out, wine and dine you, then on the second date they just absolutely f*** you. My second fight with (promotion withheld) I was fighting in Tennessee and instead of a show and win purse, I had to sell their tickets just to get a single cent for my fight. I had to purchase something like $500 in tickets and sell them just to break even, and jack the prices up to my friends and family if I wanted to make any actual money off of the fight, it was terrible.

Walker: Did you manage to make the money back?

Fighter X: Not even close, I took a $400 dollar bath and lost a decision in that fight, do you know how much it sucks to lose a fight and have it actually COST you $400 in the process? I was hemorrhaging money just to be able to fight professionally because of those crooked assholes.

Walker: So after that happened did you walk away from that promotion and promoter?

Fighter X: You see that's the thing, if you ever want to make this a career you can't afford to. Loyalty is heavily considered to be something that pays in this sport, the problem is you actually pay to be loyal, it sucks. If I had gone over to another promotion in the area my coaches, trainers and teammates would have been on my back because they fight for this guy and lose money too. Who am I to leave them to be the ones losing money, is kind of how they look at it.

Walker: Well what about the larger organizations in the UFC and Bellator – wouldn't that be a significantly better payday for you?

Fighter X: Oh absolutely, I would actually be MAKING money instead of spending it to either kick some ass or get mine kicked. There's still a problem though. If you walk into Bellator for your first year you're probably going to get paid about $10,000 a fight for 5 fights in that first year; do you know how hard it is to pay all of your bills, cover your medical bills, car payment, mortgage, insurance and feed your family with $50,000 a year? It's not even remotely possible. The beginner pay really isn't great as far as having a set lifestyle, but it's a hell of a lot better than losing money before you even get in the cage.

Walker: Before we go any further the monetary issues make me wonder about fighter management; how does that look from your point of view, and are you presently managed?

Fighter X: I have done everything in my power to avoid taking on management; if I can book it myself, why shouldn't I? Should some man or woman with a day planner picking a date and a location really be taking like 30% of my money that I trained hard and fought hard to earn? Making phone calls doesn't entitle you to my money in my mind. I can send out e-mails and make calls to find sponsors too, I want to put my own stamp on my career, not pay someone else to do it.

Walker: So have you actually received and reviewed offers from managerial companies in the sport?

Fighter X: Absolutely, the problem is if I'm fighting on the east coast, and I win a few fights and any company that wants to pay me more than $1000 to fight offers me a contract then 90% of the managerial contracts I have seen automatically extend themselves so they can continue to bleed money from me for picking fights. It's insane, if I hire a manager and I get into the UFC you know what happens? I'm stuck with that manager for the rest of my career. It's awful, they're like predators.

Walker: That's a pretty terrible turn around, but from personal experience and contacts I do know there are legit managers out there who don't dupe their fighters. Moving on, what is it like in the gym being one of the professionals who isn't in the big leagues yet?

Fighter X: Not bad really, the gym is like a family, we're all friends some nights after training we go out and get drinks, shoot the shit – normal buddy buddy stuff. The thing is, the fighters who are managed, mostly by the same company, tend to turn into a clique, and for the rest of us it sucks. They organize their own wrestling and no-gi practices and don't mention anything to us. What, they think we don't want to work on our game in our free time too? It's bullshit.

Walker: In your area, I'm relatively unfamiliar with the regional management and organizations, but do you feel like on your own without representation you can make it to the big time?

Fighter X: You know, I ponder that a lot myself too. I'm not sure if they've even made it possible for guys like me without contacts at the top to gain access to matchmakers and whoever writes out the contracts for UFC and Bellator and XFC and RFA. The entire system is based around someone taking your money to do it for you; the problem is, if you don't pay someone to do it, you will never get a call back, you will never get acknowledged, s*** you won't even exist to them without a manager who has some leverage.

Walker: You make it sound like the deck is stacked against the little guy in MMA, is that what you're insinuating?

Fighter X: If it wasn't stacked against the little guy I can think of 30-40 guys I know without management who would be jacking jaws in the UFC right now. Do you think the UFC is going to call back some 3-0 fighter who lives in a loft apartment with his dog and rations ramen noodles to make it through the week? Hell no. Trust me, I've tried. My professional record is flawless, my amateur record wasn't great but since I hit my stride I haven't lost in three years. No manager essentially means no contract.

Walker: Moving back to the regional promotions, how easy is it to get booked – even if you're losing money?

Fighter X: Oh, getting booked is as easy as can be, I can call the promoter and tell him what weight and he'll say "ok cool we'll get you an opponent." The problem is when he calls you back a week later and tells you who you're fighting, then when you talk to the guy you're [supposed to be] fighting on Twitter or Facebook, they haven't received a single call from him and you know you're getting dicked around.

Walker: Has that actually happened – or is that just an example?

Fighter X: Oh it's happened to me and a couple of teammates before, then when you confront the promoter they claim there was some clarification issues; how the hell can you clarify telling me I'm fighting a guy, and he's not even booked to fight or training to fight? It's an outright lie. Then the shit really hits the fan when they change my opponent every three days, change my weight class a week before the fight and give me shit for missing weight by a half pound.

Walker: What is the weight class that you were meant to be fighting at?

Fighter X: I was going to fight at bantamweight but that opponent backed out and I got asked to take a fight at flyweight. It's really difficult to cut an extra 10 pounds in three days, especially when you've already cut 10-15 pounds. It's not an easy thing to do, [but] these promoters a lot of them don't realize how hard this is to go through, mostly because they're sitting on their "f*** the fighter" business motto and counting OUR money while we go out there and entertain the crowd.

Walker: I know plenty of guys who hate the cut – but that seems like a pretty raw deal. Do you actually believe that's their business motto?

Fighter X: Subconsciously, their actual operating motto is probably "pay me, or get the f*** out of my cage." They set up the whole system to make THEIR money; we don't get a damn thing. I fought in a 10,000 seat arena not too long ago, it was pretty damn packed, and I still only made about $30 bucks back off the $500 stack of tickets I had to sell. All of the fighters have overlapping friends so we have to hustle each other just to break even. It sucks.

Walker: Wow. I never realized parts of the independent scene could be so seedy. Is there anything else you want to add for everyone who reads this?

Fighter X: Support your local fighters, please! We may not be on the biggest stage in the world, we may not do the 'Showtime Kick' but we put on one hell of a show. We want our fights to entertain you the same way guys like Cain Velasquez and Donald Cerrone and Anderson Silva do, we do this for the love of the sport, but we add a splash for the love of the fan, and we love to feel it back. Nothing feels better than hearing the crowds roar after you take a guy's head off with a spinning back fist, the adrenaline rush is unmatched.

Walker: Thanks for your time; I really think this is going to open some eyes

Fighter X: Thanks for giving me a place to air my grievances safely!

Thanks for reading, Follow me on Twitter @BradMMATorch